Sunny sixty degree fall days, especially in November, are meant to be spent outside raking leaves, bicycle riding, walking my dog and watching football.  Even more difficult was to be so close to Heinz field yet so fall away while the Steelers were doing battle with the Bengals.  But at the end of the day, despite temptation, I was very happy with my choice to attend the ballet yesterday.  Certainly I was out of my element.  While I have no problem breaking down the action on the field, like the millions of other Steeler head coaches in Western Pa, summing up my experience at the ballet may be a little more amateur but here we go.

For me, there were two aspects of the ballet.  Firstly, one cannot help but be in awe of the incredible strength, flexibility, coordination and conditioning of the performers.  Additionally impressive is the mental focus and teamwork of the troupe.  It is clear that these performers are also actors through their expressions and movements.  They tell a story with their bodies and movements in a very profound way.  Unlike other ballets I have attended, this performance was very physical and athletic with elements of dance and drama.

Secondly and more importantly, “Light: The Holocaust & Humanity Project,” is more than a ballet.  Creator, Stephen Mills, who is not Jewish, has taken a catastrophic human tragedy and used this art form not only to remind us of the horror but to help us feel the emotions and help us attempt to experience this terrible genocide in a different way versus reading a book or watching a movie about the Holocaust.  The ballet follows the life on one survivor from birth, to family, and to confusion, fear, despair and hopelessness.  The portrayal of transport was especially profound as the dancers worked in “boxcar” space and projected the “intimate, stifling conditions in which many died before reaching their ominous destinations.”  Despite the devastation of such conditions and depictions of death and suffering, the ballet ends with the possibility of hope and also inspires us to take our responsibilities as world citizens very seriously.

As Mr. Mills explains in the playbill, “Art alone does not change the world, people do.  We all have to be diligent to individual and governmental protection of human rights whether or not we agree with other’s religious and political choices.  Acts of moral blindness did not go out in the 1940’s with the liberation of Auschwitz.

Before coming to see “Light: The Holocaust & Humanity Project,” try to reflect on an instance when you were a bystander, a victim, or a perpetrator of intolerance.  Use this work to reflect upon your own responsibilities when confronted with acts of bigotry and hate.  My hope is that this work sparks your interest, which in turn starts a conversation.  People engaging in dialogue begin the process of positive change.”